Don’t doubt 2011 Dynamo

In July, quite a bit of fans were whining and calling for Dominic Kinnear’s job. All Kinnear had done since the team moved to Houston was win two MLS Cup titles and take the team to the playoffs in four of the first five seasons in Houston.

Yet, after the team failed to reach the playoffs for the first time in franchise history last year, some fans were ready to call for major changes in July. I wonder how silly those folks feel.

This is a gritty team, a hungry team, a team of fighters, just like their coach. They’re also Eastern Conference champions and back in the final for the third time in six years in Houston.

“My hat goes off to Houston,” KC coach Peter Vermes said. “Dominic [Kinnear] is a good friend of mine, he is a very good coach. Their team got hot toward the end of the season here and they continue to be that. They are going to be a hard team to reckon with. They are very solid right now defensively. They are good on set pieces, as you saw tonight. And I wish them all the best in the final.”

Players win and lose games, but coaches put them in positions to win. The Dynamo lost their MVP candidate, Brad Davis, in the first half. Kinnear then brought in Jermaine Taylor for Davis and pushed Corey Ashe to the midfield. With that move, Kinnear shut down Kei Kamara. Oh, and Taylor also assisted on the winning goal.

On of his second half subs, Carlo Costly, added the second goal.

“It’s something to be very proud of,” Kinnear said. “Brad (Davis) going down just before halftime was a bit of a blow, I thought we were playing pretty good. All in all, to get that first goal, it gave us a ton of confidence; we could’ve scored a second right after that. I’m obviously happy, happy for the guys first and foremost. I think three months ago a lot of people didn’t really take us seriously. This is definitely a big statement to everyone that did, but things can happen when things go well for you.”

We’ve had a lot of reasons to doubt our other pro sports teams over the year, but I for one have never doubted this team or their coach. My wife & I were in New orleans Thursday night. We watched the game on TV. We had a very nice crowd.